Jos de Mul. The work of art in the age of digital recombination. Invited lecture at Osaka University. Osaka, October 24, 2013.

Jos de Mul. Destiny Domesticated. The Rebirth of Tragedy Out of the Spirit of Technology. State University of New York (SUNY) Press, 2014. 

Destiny Domesticated investigates three approaches Western civilization has tried to tame fate: the heroic affirmation of fate in the tragic culture of the Greeks, the humble acceptance of divine providence in Christianity, and the abolition of fate in modern technological society. Against this background, Jos de Mul argues that the uncontrollability of technology introduces its own tragic dimension to our culture. Considering a range of literary texts and contemporary events, and drawing on twenty-five centuries of tragedy interpretation from philosophers such as Aristotle, Hegel, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, literary critics George Steiner and Terry Eagleton, and others, de Mul articulates a contemporary perspective on the tragic, shedding new light on philosophical topics such as free will, determinism, and the contingency of life.

Hard cover - 358 pages 
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ISBN 978-1-4384-4971-5

Electronic - 358 pages
$27.95
ISBN13: 978-1-4384-4973-9

Paperback - 358 pages
$27.95
ISBN13: 978-1-4384-4972-2
Release Date: January 2015

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REVIEWS

“The most important merit of the book is to propose a convincing definition of man and his relation to technology. With regard to the first aspect, de Mul occupies a middle position between the modern philosophies of the subject and the postmodern philosophies which have deconstructed it. As opposed to the Cartesian transparent and self-evident cogito, he argues that there are forces inside and outside man which make us often act against our own expectations. Unlike the contemporary heirs of the masters of suspicion Marx, Nietzsche and Freud, he does not believe that the subject is a mere illusion. The tragic definition of the subject is halfway between these two exaggerations. The tragic man is at the same time powerful and powerless, autonomous and limited, strong and fragile, and there is a surprising continuity between the ancient Greek man and the contemporary human being. Maybe the truth is that we have always been tragic – we have never been modern – but for a long period we have acted as if it was the case. As regards our relation to technology, too, de Mul’s position is halfway between two extremes. In contrast to a certain – especially continental – philosophy of technology of the twentieth century, represented by authors like Heidegger, Ellul, and Marcuse, he does not think that technology is intrinsically destructive forman. Yet it does not mean that technology is simply neutral, according to him. The tragic man deals with technology without unjustified fear, but he is aware of its power.

Thanks to this clear perspective, the text can have a relevant role in the contemporary philosophical debate on technology. Although it was originally published in Dutch in 2006, its ideas are current more than ever.”

Alberto Romele

Jos de Mul. Homo ludens 2.0. Play, Media & Identity. Invited lecture at the Department of Philosophy. Kyoto University, October 21, 2013

Jos de Mul and Renée van de Vall (eds.). Gimme Shelter. Global Discourses in Aesthetics. International Yearbook of Aesthetics. Vol. 15. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2013.

Gimme Shelter. Global discourses in aesthetics contains a series of reflections on the impact of globalization on the arts and the aesthetic reflection on the arts. The authors – fifteen distinguished  aestheticians from all over the world -   discuss a variety of aesthetic questions brought forth by the aforementioned process of globalization. How do artistic practices and aesthetic experiences change in response to these developments? How should we articulate these changes on the theoretical level? When reflections on the significance of art and aesthetic experiences can no longer pretend to be universal, is it still possible to lay claim to  a wider validity than merely that of one’s own particular culture? What type of vocabulary allows for mutual – dialogical or even polylogical – exchanges and understandings when different traditions meet, without obliterating local differences? Is there a possibility for a creative re-description of globalization? And is there a meaning of ‘the global’ that cannot be reduced to universalism and unification? Can we seek shelter in a legitimate way?

Free download of the entire book (Open Access edition)

Jos de Mul, Forever online? Een socratische monoloog over de sociale media. Biddinghuizen: Lowlands, 17 augustus 2013.

Steeds meer mensen brengen steeds meer tijd door op de sociale media. Doen we daar wel goed aan? Met een verwijzing naar Plato's bespreking van de sociale media uit zijn tijd (het toen in opmars zijnde schrift) zal Jos de Mul ingaan op het nut en het nadeel van de sociale media voor ons leven.

Jos de Mul, RayFish Footwear, or the age of the biotechnological sublime.  Invited lecture at the 19th International Congress of Aesthetics. Krakow: Jagiellonian University, July 23, 2013.

The notion of the sublime, which since the nineteenth century is one of the dominant aesthetic categories, is strongly connected with (the artistic representation of) overwhelming nature. In my talk I will argue that in the course of the 20th century the sublime increasingly becomes entangled with the experience of technology. However, in the age of biotechnologies, such as genetic modification and synthetic biology, the sublime regains a natural dimension. Illustrated by RayFish Footware and some other striking examples of recent 'bio-art' it will be argued that in the age of biotechnology the difference between nature, technology and art will gradually vanish, and new dimensions of the sublime will become manifest.

Jos de Mul. Playful Identities: From Narrative to Ludic Self-Construction. Lecture and chair of the Playful Identities Panel at the international conference Paul Ricoeur and the Future of the Humanities.University of Groningen.

Jos de Mul: Playful Identities: From Narrative to Ludic Self-Construction

The aim of the interdisciplinary (conceptual-philosophical, media-theoretical, and qualitative empirical) Playful Identities (NWO) program (2005-2011) was to investigate if, and if so, to what extent and in what way, digital information and communication technologies are transforming the (construction of) personal and cultural identity. To that end we’ve developed a theory of ludic identity that critically elaborates on Ricoeur's theory of narrative identity. In this theory play and games are not only appropriate metaphors for human identity, but they are also conceived of as means by which people reflexively construct their identity.  In his presentation, Jos de Mul will sketch the outlines of this theory of ludic identity, against the background of which the other panelists, who all participated in the research program, will present some of the research projects in more detail.

Jos de Mul. The biotechnological sublime. From nature to technology and back. Princeton Institute for Advanced Study. The Institute Letter. Spring 2013, 17.

Many things are awesome, but none more awesome than man.

Sophocles

Every once in a while we experience something extraordinary. Such ‘awesome’ experiences might happen in our research, when we unexpectedly discover something really amazing, or when we come across a magnificent landscape, hear a piece of music that really moves us, or when we fall deeply in love. Traditionally these kinds of extraordinary experiences are called “sublime”. In the following I will present some reflections on one particular kind of sublimity: the technological sublime.

Jos de Mul. Destiny Domesticated, or Five Not-So-Easy Ways to Tame Fate, in Frank van der Stok (ed.). Daan Paans: Letters of Utopia. Breda: The Eriskay Connection, 2013, 145-157.

Fate. Sooner or later it knocks at everyone’s door. In many different ways. It can enter our lives gradually in the guise of an incurable disease or spring on us suddenly in the guise of an unexpected oncoming car in our lane. It can befall us from the outside like a devastating tsunami, or loom up from within like an all-consuming jealousy. Fate can happen unintentionally, or be done to us – or another person – on purpose. It comes in the horrible guise of war and the intoxicating appeal of an addiction. It is painful when it happens to us, and often even more painful when it befalls someone we love. Without wanting it our frail happiness is continuously interrupted by fatal events. And even when we are lucky enough to avoid grand catastrophes in our lives, in the end we inevitably lose our loved ones and we, ourselves die. While fate inescapably befalls us we find it hard to bear that thought. It is a burden that we cannot carry, but that we also cannot shed.

Bruno Accarino, Jos de Mul and Hans-Peter Krüger (eds.). Internationales Jahrbuch für Philosophische Anthropologie. Band 3 / International Yearbook for Philosophical Anthropology. Volume 2. R. Becker, J. Fischer & M. Schloßberger, (eds). Dezentrierungen. Zur Konfrontation von Philosophischer Anthropologie, Strukturalismus und Poststrukturalismus. Berlin: Akademie Verlag, 2012, 364 p.

Die Philosophische Anthropologie ist in der Forschung bislang vor allem zum Existenzialismus und zur Kritischen Theorie in Beziehung gesetzt worden. Das erstaunt wenig, wenn man die Wirkungsmacht dieser beiden Pradigmen bedenkt.

Ertragreicher ist jedoch der bisher vernachlässigte Vergleich mit Strukturalismus und Poststrukturalismus, da hier der Anteil an gemeinsamen Problemen und Fragestellungen größer ist, was jede Diskussion von vornherein interessanter macht: Berührt sich die Philosophische Anthtropologie mit dem Strukturalismus nicht insofern in einer Abkehr vom Historismus, als beide Traditionen nach der Rolle durchlaufender Strukturen fragen, die den Zugang zu den Phänomenen regulieren? Und trifft sie sich nicht zugleich mit der vom Poststrukturalismus artikulierten Kritik an der Verabsolutierung dieser Regelsysteme, wenn sie auf der Geschichtlichkeit und Lebendigkeit der Praktiken besteht, in denen die Subjekte ihre Identität erst ausbilden, aber auch aufs Spiel setzen? Die Beiträge des Bandes zeichnen das Streitgespäch zwischen den drei Strömungen nach und diskutieren deren Gemeinsamkeiten.